Modular solid-state circuit breaker

Abstract

A solid-state circuit breaker for a DC system includes a switching module having a first terminal detachably connectable to a DC power source and a second terminal detachably connectable to a load. The switching module has a predetermined plurality of solid-state switches connected in parallel between the first and second terminals. An energy absorbing module has a first terminal detachably connectable to the DC power source and a second terminal detachably connectable to the load. The switching module includes a predetermined plurality of solid-state Transient Voltage Supressors (TVS) connected in parallel between the first and second terminals.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A solid-state circuit breaker for a DC system, comprising:
 a switching module having a first terminal detachably connectable to a DC power source and a second terminal detachably connectable to a load, the switching module including a predetermined plurality of solid-state switches connected in parallel between the first and second terminals; and 
 an energy absorbing module having an other first terminal detachably connectable to the DC power source and an other second terminal detachably connectable to the load, the energy absorbing module including a predetermined plurality of solid-state Transient Voltage Supressors (TVS) connected in parallel between the other first and second terminals. 
 
     
     
       2. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of solid-state switches includes MOSFET switches. 
     
     
       3. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of solid-state switches includes IGBT switches. 
     
     
       4. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of solid-state switches includes a number of the solid-state switches based on a predetermined parameter of the DC system. 
     
     
       5. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 4 , wherein the predetermined parameter of the DC system includes a desired switching speed for the solid-state circuit breaker. 
     
     
       6. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of TVSs includes a number of the TVSs based on a predetermined parameter of the DC system. 
     
     
       7. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 6 , wherein the predetermined parameter of the DC system includes inductance of the DC system. 
     
     
       8. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 1 , further comprising a first connector configured to mechanically and electrically connect the first terminal of the switching module to the DC power source, and a second connector configured to mechanically and electrically connect the second terminal of the switching module to the load. 
     
     
       9. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 8 , wherein the first connector is configured to mechanically and electrically connect the first terminal of a plurality of the switching modules to the DC power source, and the second connector is configured to mechanically and electrically connect the second terminal of a plurality of the switching modules to the load. 
     
     
       10. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 8 , wherein the first connector is configured to mechanically and electrically connect the other first terminal of the energy absorbing module to the DC power source, and the second connector is configured to mechanically and electrically connect the other second terminal of the energy absorbing module to the load. 
     
     
       11. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 10 , wherein the first connector is configured to mechanically and electrically connect the other first terminal of a plurality of the energy absorbing modules to the DC power source, and the second connector is configured to mechanically and electrically connect the second other terminal of a plurality of the energy absorbings module to the load. 
     
     
       12. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of switching modules including the switching module. 
     
     
       13. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 12 , wherein the plurality of switching modules are detachably connectable to one another. 
     
     
       14. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of energy absorbing modules including the energy absorbing module. 
     
     
       15. The solid-state circuit breaker of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of energy absorbing modules are detachably connectable to one another. 
     
     
       16. A DC system, comprising:
 a DC power source; 
 a load connected to receive DC power from the DC power source; 
 a solid-state circuit breaker including:
 a switching module including a predetermined plurality of solid-state switches connected in parallel between a first terminal and a second terminal; and 
 an energy absorbing module including a predetermined plurality of solid-state Transient Voltage Supressors (TVS) connected in parallel between an other first terminal and an other second terminal; 
 a first connector detachably connecting the first terminal and the other first terminal to the DC power source; and 
 a second connector detachably connecting the second terminal and the other second terminal to the load. 
 
 
     
     
       17. The DC system of  claim 16 , wherein the solid-state circuit breaker includes a plurality of switching modules including the switching module. 
     
     
       18. The DC system of  claim 16 , wherein the solid-state circuit breaker includes a plurality of energy absorbing modules including the energy absorbing module. 
     
     
       19. A method, comprising:
 providing a DC system including a load configured to be powered by the DC power source; 
 determining a system inductance for the DC system; 
 determining a number of solid-state Transient Voltage Supressors (TVS) to absorb energy stored by the DC system in response to the short-circuit event based on the determined system inductance; 
 detachably connecting an energy absorbing module including the determined number of TVSs connected in parallel between a first terminal and a second terminal between the DC power source and the load; and 
 detachably connecting a switching module having an another first terminal and an another second terminal between the DC power source and the load via the another first and second terminals wherein the switching module is responsive to a short-circuit event of the DC system. 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 19 , further comprising determining a number of solid-state switches to be included in the switching module.